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Here’s what’s been going on at the Innocence Project lately.
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Marcellus Williams. (Image: Courtesy of Marcellus Williams’ legal team)
Stop the Sept. 24 Execution of Marcellus Williams
Earlier this month, the Missouri Supreme Court scheduled Marcellus Williams's execution for Sept. 24, 2024 at 6 p.m. for a 1998 murder — despite new evidence supporting his innocence. In 1998, a former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter was stabbed to death in her own home. Two years later, Marcellus was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery, and burglary. His conviction was based on the inconsistent testimonies of two incentivized witnesses.
After his conviction, Marcellus was excluded as the source of the DNA found on the murder weapon, proving he did not commit the crime and contradicting testimony used to convict him. And next month, the Circuit Court in St. Louis, is set to consider this new evidence of his innocence. Yet the execution date for Marcellus remains in place. We can't let Missouri execute an innocent person. Join the thousands of people calling for justice for Marcellus by adding your name to the petition right now.
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Robert Roberson. (Image: Courtesy of Robert Roberson’s legal team)
Oct. 17 Execution Scheduled for Robert Roberson in Texas
Robert Roberson is an innocent father who has spent more than 20 years on Texas’s death row for a crime that never occurred. His conviction was based on an outdated and now debunked shaken baby hypothesis. New evidence shows that his daughter, Nikki, died of natural and accidental causes. But despite his request for a hearing, Texas scheduled an execution date for Robert on Oct. 17th. Unless the courts or Gov. Greg Abbott intervene, Robert could be the first person in the U.S. executed based on a discredited shaken baby hypothesis — we can’t let this happen. Add your name right now to the growing list of people calling on Texas leaders to stop this injustice.
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Marvin Grimm and his sisters (Image: Courtesy of Marvin Grimm)
Virginia Exonerates Marvin Grimm, Jr. in 1975 Murder Case After 45 Years of Wrongful Incarceration
In 2020, Marvin Grimm, Jr. was finally exonerated by the Virginia Court of Appeals which granted relief based on actual innocence. Marvin spent 45 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit — more time in prison than any client exonerated by the Innocence Project. He was released in 2020 on parole and required to register as a sex offender despite his innocence. After more than four decades, we’re so grateful that Marvin is finally free from his wrongful conviction. Please take some time today to learn more about his case and share his story with your friends and family on social media.
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Samuel Grasty, Derrick Chappell, and Morton Johnson (Image: Courtesy of the families)
Freedom Deferred: How Juneteenth Echoes in the Case of the ‘Chester Trio’
Nearly 160 years following what is now known as Juneteenth, we continue to see freedom delayed for wrongfully convicted people trapped by a broken criminal legal system that still bears the legacy of slavery, as in the case of our client, Morton Johnson, in Pennsylvania. Morton, his cousin Sam Grasty, and their friend Derrick Chappell have already spent more than half their lives in prison for the 1997 murder of 70-year-old Henrietta Nickens. Despite a court order overturning their convictions based on new DNA evidence pointing to someone else as the perpetrator, they remain in prison as the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office appeals the ruling. Please read more today about Morton, Sam, and Derrick — three wrongfully
convicted Black men dubbed the “Chester Trio” by local media.
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Sandra Hemme (center) with her sister and mother. (Image: Courtesy of the Hemme family)
Missouri Circuit Court Overturns Sandra Hemme’s Murder Conviction After 43 Years
For the past 43 years, Sandra “Sandy” Hemme has been incarcerated for a crime she didn’t commit. Sandy is the longest-known wrongly incarcerated woman in the U.S. But earlier this month, Livingston County Presiding Judge Ryan Horsman overturned Sandra’s conviction in the 1980 murder of Patricia Jeschke in St. Joseph, Missouri. The fight to free Sandy isn’t over, but this is a big step in the right direction. Please take a moment right now to learn more about her case and then share the news on social media.
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Rodney Roberts. Photo by Mattedesign.
Innocence Project’s Re-entry Coach and Exoneree Rodney Roberts Shares 6 Tips to Reduce Stress
Having spent 18 years behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit, the Innocence Project’s first-ever re-entry coach Rodney Roberts knows firsthand the toll a wrongful conviction can take on one’s mental health and well-being. Every day, he helps exonerees find their paths to healing and resilience as he navigates his own. Read about some of the coping mechanisms that have helped Rodney and countless others navigate the complexities of incarceration and life after exoneration.
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Exonerations Around the U.S.
Pennsylvania Innocence Project client Montrell Oliver was exonerated on June 13, 2024, after serving 25 years wrongfully incarcerated.
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